


Awaken

by SeraphExodus (BlueBoxesAndDeerStalkers)



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Round 1 entry, Rumbelle Showdown 2020 (Once Upon a Time), no beta we die like bae
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:54:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25617682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueBoxesAndDeerStalkers/pseuds/SeraphExodus
Summary: Belle and Rummond Gold live a happy and blissful life, even after seven years of marriage. However, the heart attack Rummond had may be more than what it seemed.Chapter 2 in the works, might take me a while though.Originally written for the Rumbelle Showdown under the name panicmoon. Formerly titled 'To Remember’.
Relationships: Belle/Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold
Comments: 4
Kudos: 17





	Awaken

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the Rumbelle Showdown 2020, around May 9th. My Showdown name was panicmoon and the prompt was 'water on the floor'. This hasn't been beta read but I did go through it and change (and add) a couple things from when it was originally posted. If you spot any mistakes, just throw a comment down below and I'll happily fix it. Enjoy!

“Rum?” Belle called out. Her husband had gone to make them some tea but hadn’t come back up yet. He presumably couldn’t hear her through the thick walls of the library and all the books. He was probably making them a snack as well. They hadn’t had lunch yet and it was nearly three o’clock. Both of them were hungry and it wasn’t like Belle could make anything more than toast anyways. She let her thoughts drift from the book in her hands. It wasn’t that enticing anyways. Some silly bodice ripper that reviews were so horrid that Belle had to check it out for herself. She was quite sure she and her husband had more fun reading it than most people did. Though they weren’t exactly reading it.

Her husband was wonderful. An amazing man, with a kind heart, who had been hurt by many people throughout his life. When she first met him, he had built up impossibly high walls around him. Hiding behind a snappish and cold mask, desperate not to be hurt again. But she caught a glimpse of the man that was there behind those castle walls and she just had to meet him properly. It had taken a while but she finally found him and realized that she’d come to love him along the way. And he loved her.

They quickly became friends after he hired her to help around the pawnshop. She took lunch with him every day and eventually she realized that their relationship consisted of more than just friends or employer and employee. Their first kiss had him scuttering away, his self-loathing rearing its ugly head but she managed to convince him that, 'Yes Rum, I do actually like you. No, it wasn’t a mistake. Yes, I’d be very happy if you kissed me again... Much better.' They got married about a year later and lived in newlywed bliss for a while. In all honesty, even after seven years of marriage, they still hadn’t left the newlywed phase and everything that came with it. They were happy.

She ran the library, helping around the pawnshop every now and then but Henry had taken over her job and Rum was more than happy to spend time with someone who reminded him of his son. Regina wasn't exactly happy with Henry's new job but Rummond made sure he was never in harm's way. She was sad that her father never saw what she did with Rummond but accepted that they would never see eye to eye. If he wanted to mend that bridge with his daughter then he would have to reach out first.

About six months ago, Rummond had a heart attack. Two, if you count the one he had in the hospital as well. He flatlined in the hospital and their lives had been shaken completely. He spent three more weeks there before Dr. Whale cleared him. The reason why it had taken so long was that Victor was incredibly confused about why Rum had a heart attack in the first place. Nonetheless, they had been careful with his health ever since. But it was still a mystery that remained. Even Dr. Whale had said there was no reason Rum had the attacks and none of the tests revealed why either. She noticed that Rum had been more distracted before the attacks but it had coincided with the anniversary of his father's death and she thought it was just old memories bothering him that came with the date.

Her eyes drifted to the ticking antique clock on the wall and her nostalgic and blissful mood dropped. It wasn’t because of the clock. No, it was a beautiful piece that Rum had repaired a couple of years ago. Belle liked it so much that she convinced her husband to take it home with him instead of selling it. It was the time. Rummond had been gone for more than thirty minutes. Forgetting the book in her lap, she rushed through the library doors, down the stairs and into the kitchen. She froze at the sight before her. Not again.

There lay her husband collapsed on the kitchen tile. Hesitantly, she stepped forward, one foot after the other until she reached him. Her socks were wet, she realized slowly. Her eyes spotted the kettle near his right hand. What was left of two tea cups were shattered around him. He hadn’t even gotten to making the tea. He wasn't breathing. Belle dropped to her knees, desperately trying to feel for a pulse on his neck. She couldn’t find one. His phone sat on the kitchen counter. Belle grabbed it, calling 911 and explaining the situation to the operator. She shook her husband desperately, trying to get him to wake up. She pulled him onto her lap, into a tight hug. It felt like hours, she sat there, holding him and sobbing. Her pyjama bottoms were wet through but she didn’t care. The water around might as well be blood. Her husband was dead. He wasn’t murdered like he sometimes joked he would be, just another heart attack. But this time she didn't get to him quick enough. Where were the paramedics? But something happened that stopped all of Belle’s questions. Her entire train of thought slammed to a stop. Rummond shifted. It was an impossibly slight movement but hugging him so tightly, she felt it.

She released him from her grasp, looking around desperately, for any signs he was alive. Nothing. Until his eyes flew open. She released him from her tight grasp, looking around desperately, for any signs of movement. Then his eyes opened. They were completely black, like a demon in all those horror movies. Something that looked like scales bloomed all through his face presumably down the rest of his body. They were a greenish-grey hue that seemed to sparkle with gold. Her eyes flicked back to his. They changed. Now like a lizard’s, a light brown mixed with flakes of gold.

A dark grin spread over his face. Revealing teeth that were rotten and grotesque. She tried to pull away from this monster that used to be her husband but he had turned and gripped her arms tightly. He flipped them, restraining her hands above her head. She couldn’t get away. The more she squirmed away from him, the closer he got until he was on top of her, preventing her from moving anywhere. The smile was nearly splitting apart his face. With his face only a couple of inches above hers, he whispered, "Hello, dearie."


End file.
